G80 lifting chains are at the center of many hoists, slings, and spreader beams, yet many purchasers continue to make the same three mistakes: they grasp by paint color, they sidestep paperwork, and they settle for "good-enough" load charts. This publication outlines each trap, illustrates the science behind the hazard, and offers simple checks you can carry out on the shop floor. Continue reading, save your team from unnecessary failures, and gain the confidence that hard facts alone can give.

Pitfall 1 Buying by Paint, Not by Chemistry

G80 is Grade 80 strength: ≥ 800 MPa tensile and 8 × WLL minimum break. Painters can reproduce the standard black or silver look in minutes, but only properly heat-treated 20Mn2 alloy steel will match the numbers because manganese increases hardenability while low carbon avoids the chain from becoming brittle.

Spot the risk in an instant:

Reject the batch at once and demand lab data if any cell falls in the right-hand column.

Pitfall 2 Overlooking Batch Certificates

Steel properties fluctuate with every heat, so manufacturers include mill certs and proof-test reports on each run. Omitting these sheets is risky. Always double-check three fields: link size, batch or heat code, and minimum break force.

Numbers without a signature and date from an ISO 9001 auditor mean nothing. Keep the PDFs handy, give them to inspectors, and never rely on verbal assurances.

Pitfall 3 Stretching Rated Loads "Just This Once"

Riggers will pull an additional half-ton out of a chain "for five minutes." Materials science disagrees: every overload reduces fatigue life because micro-cracks propagate faster under residual stress. And reports from crane accidents verify that most chain breaks have a root cause in prior overloads, not in some random shop-floor flaw.

Simple rule: stop the lift when the calculated force exceeds the published WLL. Switch to the next link size and proceed safely. Chains cost less than downtime, lawsuits, or injured workers.

Quick Reference Load Table for G80 Chain Sizes often used

Values meet EN 818-2 for 20Mn2 alloy after quench-and-temper.

Making It All Work

You now see why appearance misleads buyers, paperwork prevents loss of life, and overload habits reduce chain life by half. Use the visual inspections in Pitfall 1, demand and document certificates in accordance with Pitfall 2, and use rigorous load restriction to beat Pitfall 3. Since good habits beat lucky guesses, and carefully chosen G80 chains keep all crews, projects, and budgets on track.

Choose certified G80 chains today and lift with utmost confidence. // Click me for more information!!